Forestburg off to strong start

Forestburg has won four of its first five games in the Tommy Tritz era, looking like a team that’s ready to challenge for a playoff berth when District 12-A Division I starts in two weeks.

A week after the Longhorns’ best victory – a 54-50 road decision over Gordon – they hit the road for Trinidad and won 92-44 in a game that was a midweek addition to the schedule.

Tritz has been impressed with his team’s work ethic since he showed up during the summer. J.D. Moore has rushed for 732 yards and 15 touchdowns while throwing for 529 yards and seven scores, and Tritz said the most impressive thing about Moore has been his leadership.

Bear Osteen is another Longhorn who’s made a difference on offense, catching seven TDs and rushing for five more. Zach Bradley is also a key two-way starter.

“Offensively, we’ve been pretty efficient,” Tritz said. “We score pretty quick and so our defense is on the field a lot longer than I’d like.

“(The start) is what I expected, but I’m not sure it’s what everyone expected before the start of the year.”

Forestburg will be a favorite to go to 5-1 against Savoy on Friday before opening district against Newcastle (2-3), which has won seven consecutive district titles but is off to a slow start in 2017.

“Starting with Newcastle could put us in a good spot if we take care of business,” Tritz said.

Worth noting

* Now that Throckmorton earned its first win of the season, only two six-man teams remain winless in 2017 – Benjamin and Gold-Burg. Those teams square off Friday in a matchup that was moved back from the beginning of the season.

* In sixmanfootball.com’s weekly rankings, Bryson moved up to No. 4 in Division I while Knox City stayed at 17th. Crowell dropped to No. 6 in Division II heading into Friday’s home game against No. 5 Valley.